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Lowell committee OKs six early-release days

LOWELL -- The School Committee opted to maintain six district-wide early-release days for the next school year, although the superintendent had recommended an increase to nine early-release days.

The School Committee approved, 6-1, the 2013/14 school-year calendar with six district-wide early-release days and three additional early-release days for Lowell High School to plan for its upcoming re-certification.

Member Connie Martin voted against that calendar.

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She had supported Superintendent of Schools Jean Franco's decision to increase the number of days to nine.

Franco had provided a summary of the type of professional development that staff completed during early-release days this year. She also reported on the costs to hold professional development after school instead of during contractual time.

For example, she said if 1,200 employees completed 12 hours of professional development outside the contracted school day, it would cost the district $432,000.

"Certainly looking at the numbers, I think that warrants it," Martin said, acknowledging the imposition early-release days can have on parents.

Jim Leary said he appreciated the value of professional development, but parents either have to take the day off from work or pay for additional child care to accommodate early-release days. He said he couldn't support the three additional days.

Kristin Ross-Sitcawich and Kim Scott, who, like Leary, have children in the school system, agreed and voted against the nine early-release days.

Robert Gignac said he voted against the extra early-release days because classroom time for students should be maximized.

David Conway and Mayor Patrick Murphy voted for both calendars.

In other business, the committee discussed the new reception/security desk at Lowell High School.

A security guard is now assigned to the desk rather than administrative assistants, as had previously been stationed there, according to a memo from Headmaster Ed Rozmiarek.

Leary said he hoped the school was still committed to looking at professional development and training and the best way to staff the desk at the entrance of the school.

"The letter we got back I thought was out of frustration, in terms of the headmaster, that we instructed him to make these changes immediately," Leary said. "My understanding and perhaps I'm missing a bigger point here is that we didn't want to make those changes immediately, we wanted to regroup, refocus and take a look at how we would be able to put that position in a true safety fashion successfully."

Franco said a security guard was assigned there in the interim. During the budget process, administrators will look at the best ways to staff and train personnel at the desk.

Gignac suggested putting monitors from the security cameras at the desk so the person staffing it can multitask.

He also suggested investing in technology that can scan a visitor's photo identification instead of just writing someone's name in a logbook and putting in a buzzer and outside security camera so visitors have to be buzzed in, "so there's a safeguard for the person sitting at that desk."

In other business, the School Committee unanimously approved a two-year contract for the Lowell School Administrators Association, an approximately 150- to 175-member union that includes administrators, social workers, psychologists, guidance counselors and instructional specialists. The union agreed to a 2.5 percent pay increase in each year, to the new educator evaluation tool and health insurance language changes.

The committee approved Conway's motion to regularly share information from the district with the city's neighborhood groups.

Leary and Ross-Sitcawich requested the administration to provide a report and recommendation on how the district's school buildings will be used as there has been discussion about moving central offices and re-opening the Rogers School for classrooms.

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